Segrè, Emilio [Nobel 1959] – ENRICO FERMI PHYSICIST – 1970 (Signed)

cm. 22 x 14,5, pp. 276, copertina rigida con sovraccoperta, lievi tracce d’uso, in buone condizioni. Dedica autografa dell’autore (Nobel per la fisica del 1959), conservato all’interno un piccolo bigliettino augurale con nome dei destinatari e firma dell’autore.

In a review of volume one of The Collected Papers of Enrico Fermi (Chicago, 1962), edited by Emilio Segrè, I. I. Rabi wrote, “It is to be hoped that, with the increasing interest in the history of science, a devoted biographer of Enrico Fermi will be found, one who will give us a full-length biography which will explore Fermi’s scientific publications and his philosophical and political orientation and also trace the development of the interests and tastes of this extraordinary genius. By this time a personality of such magnitude in the humanities would have been the subject of studies by a number of students. In this so-called age of science a similar effort should be made to obtain a more profound under standing of scientists’ personalities and of their contributions, for scientists represent the principal driving force of our age.”

The devoted biographer has been found. He is Emilio Segrè, pupil, collaborator, and lifelong friend of Enrico Fermi. Unlike former biographies of Fermi, this one gives an image of the scientist, his methods, intellectual history, and achievements, in the framework of contemporary science. It is not excessively technical, but explains in layman’s terms the scientific problems faced or solved by Fermi. It contains some especially illuminating previously unpublished material concerning Fermi’s youth in Italy and the development of his scientific style.